Monday, November 28, 2011

Pasta E Fagioli Soup {Slow Cooker}

I will be the first to admit that the first time I ever heard of or tasted this soup was at Olive Garden. I know it existed in Italy long before Olive Garden was ever around but it was Olive Garden that introduced me to this seriously yummy and hearty soup. I've made it several different ways over the years. It was all basically the same recipe, with small differences, and all of them were good in their own right. Then I started seeing recipes that were just like the ones I had but there was one big difference...jarred spaghetti sauce. Well, it was that jarred spaghetti sauce that would do it for me. It really helps add another layer of flavor to an already delicious soup. Who knew Prego would be so good for my soup?

Ingredients:

1 pound
ground beef

1 small
onion, finely diced

2 carrots,
finely diced

2 stalks
celery, finely diced

1 can diced
tomatoes, undrained

1 can dark
red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can
cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed

1 (26 oz.)
container beef stock (or 3 cups)

1 jar (25 oz.) spaghetti sauce

2 tsp. dried
oregano

2 teaspoons
dried parsley

1 teaspoon
ground black pepper

3/4 cup uncooked ditalini pasta (see cook's notes below)

Salt, to
taste (about ½ tbsp. kosher salt)

Directions:

Brown and
crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease.

Finely diced onions, celery, carrots...

Don't forget to drain and rinse your beans.

Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker (except for pasta) and stir.

Set slow
cooker on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours

During the
last 30 minutes or so of cooking, add in the pasta and stir.

Cook’s Notes: Pasta likes to absorb a lot of the
liquid so if you like your soup a bit more soupy, be prepared to have an extra
can of beef broth handy. You can add it in towards the end. Also, another way to avoid this is to precook your pasta first and then add it in at the end. Also, you can do this without a slow cooker. Follow the instructions above, but instead of adding to a slow cooker, just put all ingredients in a large pot (except for the pasta). Cook over low heat for about an hour. During the last 15-20 minutes, add in the pasta.

Anonymous, if you'd like you could always add a few dashes of hot sauce or maybe a touch of cayenne pepper to up the spiciness. We keep things low on the spice-facto here because of the kiddos.Liz, I would say this serves at least 6 (maybe more, depending on how large your serving bowls are).

Until Olive Garden, I thought Pasta Fagiole was a pasta dish. My mother used pasta, lima beans and spaghetti sauce....nothing else. I was well into adulthood before I learned that it was actually a soup. But, some places make theirs more like Navy bean soup than like this. This is my favorite!

I am a very busy Oma with 2 grands, a working daughter and a working husband who all want dinner at different times. I made this soup today and the whole family voted this one their favorite of the month. Thanks so much. Everything is perfect about this dish. Full flavor, good mix of ingredients and ease of preparation. Two thumbs up from Casa de Cuckoo. Oma Linda

I made the Pasta Fagioli and Meatball Tortellini soups and the Butterfinger Cake for a church supper last night. They were all a huge hit. Thanks so much for the great tasting and easy to prepare recipes.

Isn't it awesome? I've been using a very similar recipe for about 15 years, and it gets rave reviews every time I make it. I do cook my ditalini separate, and occasionally make it up a day in advance and refrigerate it overnight for even better flavor. Just add the pasta right before serving.Terry

I have this cooking in the crockpot right now and the smell is amazing!! I doubled the amount of beef stock just because I love it soupy... & of course I just had to do a taste test and WOW it is exactly like Olive Garden's...Thank you so much for sharing my boys are going to love this :)

Just wanted to let you know I cooked this for dinner last night, and it was super yummy. (I'm actually eating leftovers for lunch today at work. hehe) Husband and I both went back for seconds. Only alterations: I accidentally grabbed chicken stock instead of beef; I used S&P when browning the ground beef, added a Bay leaf; added chopped garlic (b/c in my house it isn't dinner without garlic) and used a small shell pasta instead (b/c that was all I had). I must say it was so incredible. I served it with your short cut bread sticks-which were as big of a hit (if not bigger cause my daughter would eat only bread if allowed) as the soup. Thanks again!

I have made this three times already since finding this on Pinterest. We love it. I don't do the crock-pot method, just stove top. After all ingredients are combined, I simmer for 45-60 minutes. I also make the pasta separate and add later as to not make the soup to thick as the juice is absorbed in the pasta. This is yummy. I'm making it again today except doubling this time. Thanks for a hearty soup that is also safe for my son with severe food allergies.

This is sssoooo good. I made this twice already...but I have to cut the recipe in half ...it's too much for two people. The first time I forgot to decrease the amount of pasta so it was a mess. The second time it was perfection. I separated some in three bowls to try to find the right spicy kick. The Cayenne pepper was too hot and I didn't care for the hot sauce flavor...surprisingly a little chili pepper seasoning was perfect! Thank you!

I would add some parmesan cheese before serving...I believe they do that at Olive Garden...and I think I see some floating on top of the finished soup in your picture! Sounds great can't wait to try it! Thanks~

I am making this today! It smells so good in my kitchen right now. We LOVE it! I usually double it and either freeze some or share with others. Thanks again for the great recipes! Hope you have a great week-end!

I'm am so happy to hear you like this recipe!! I truly appreciate y'all for taking the time to let me know how a recipe turned out. It makes my day!! I hope you find lots more recipes on here that you love! ~Brandie

Just made this soup for my daughter's Christmas party! It tasted just like olive garden! Love it! Thank you so much. Your blog is wonderful. I especially appreciate your pictures of the products you use for the recipe. It makes things so much easier. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.

I wanted to let you know that I tried this recipe a few weeks ago, and it has been requested 2 more times since. It was a big hit at our Christmas Eve party, too. I made it again last night for a New Year's Eve Party by request. I had been on the lookout for a good recipe that was simple because my husband loves this stuff at Olive Garden. This one will be on our regular menu now. Thank you.Lisa

I made this last night. It was very good. I had to add two more containers beef broth, because after I added the noodles they just sucked up the juice. I also used diced tomatoes that had Basil, garlic, and oregano. I also cooked it on the stove top. I will be making this again!!!

1) Always add pasta after cooking it - and right before serving. I am never adding it until we are getting ready to eat - it may do ok to add before going off to work. It makes mush if you cook it in or leave it in. Lesson learned on that.

2) V8 juice adds an amazing layer. I didn't have any more broth and needed liquid with flavor. Really made it even better and added a beautiful layer.

This was AMAZING!!!!! I definitely agree with everyone who says to cook & store the pasta separately - I cooked it separately, but mixed it before storing and the pasta, even though it was cooked, continued to soak up the broth. My only other suggestion would be to decrease the black pepper a bit because it was a lot more pepper-y than the Olive Garden's version. Aside from that, this was absolutely perfect - and I generally don't think knockoff recipes taste much like the original. This was definitely one that did!